Extinction Part 3
At the Luthor Mansion…
Lana busied herself creating identical place settings around the mansion's dining room table. It was the one room that held a table long enough to hold all the students. Lex's security advised it would be best for everyone to leave immediately, without the chance of gathering their schoolbooks or other personal items. It had been the same way with Mr. Wallace last night. After Lana had called Lex, asking if he would allow Mr. Wallace to hide out at the mansion, she had driven him straight over.
The tutor Lex hired was at the head of the table, preparing his presentation. Lana had volunteered to help set up the makeshift schoolroom. She made sure each chair had a notebook, pens, and the necessary textbooks. In the middle of the table were pitchers of soda and plates of fresh fruit and cookies.
"This ain't the kitchen."
Lana turned to see Mr. Wallace in the doorway.
"Mr. Wallace, how are you settling in?"
"A bit antsy. I'm not used to doing nothing all day. Especially when I want to stay distracted. Thought I'd make some tea."
They were interrupted as the student body entered the room, led by Lex Luthor. Lana and Mr. Wallace were trapped by the door as everyone pooled in. Their expressions ranged from scared to bored. Alicia made it a point to glare at Lana as she walked past.
"Mr. Luthor, I'd like to thank you again for letting me stay at your place." Mr. Wallace said.
"Please, call me Lex. If there's anything else I can do to make your stay more comfortable…"
"Well, if you're offering, I wouldn't say 'no' to being allowed to explore your garage. And maybe take a look beneath the hoods of those exotic cars of yours."
"Of course. I'll take you there myself shortly."
"Lex, thanks for doing this," Megan said, coming up to him.
"How could I say 'no' to two such determined young ladies? If you'll excuse me." Lex began to lead Mr. Wallace down the hall to the garage.
"This was your idea?" Lana asked Megan.
Megan shrugged. "I basically said he was also on the list so he should think about all of us joining forces. What did you suggest?"
"Mr. Wallace came into the Talon for his last meal. I needed to do something, so I called Lex."
"Course you did."
The remark was not kind or encouraging. Megan looked annoyed and her lips formed a tight, thin line. Lana felt exhausted. She was done. Done apologizing and begging for empathy as she tried to navigate through this mess. Without another word, Lana left the room.
"Hey!" Megan shouted, following behind.
"What?" Lana said, spinning around.
"You were so quick to help Mr. Wallace. You're so quick to jump in and help with fundraisers and charities and saving a coffee shop and helping other people, but when I, your friend, needed help, when I was bullied for something I had no control over, you were nowhere to be found. And I want to know why!"
Lana looked down, unable to meet Megan's angry glare.
"You're right. I should have at least talked to you," Lana confessed quietly. "All I can say is I was afraid."
"Did you think I'd kill you?"
"I don't know!" Lana threw her hands in the air. "It would fit the pattern. Cause that's what happens. Someone gets infected and my life is in danger. Greg Arkin. Tina Greer. Twice! Ian Randall. Cloned childhood friends who are dead and other zombies. F5 tornadoes and exploding pipes that give you visions. Extinct flowers and mind controlled killer bees. It never ends!" Lana collapsed onto a nearby bench. Her eyes began to well up with tears and she was aware of Megan taking a seat next to her.
"I just want to leave," Lana sobbed.
"Why don't you?"
"Huh?"
"Leave. What's stopping you?" Megan's tone was kinder now.
Lana opened her mouth to reply but was unsure what to say.
The Talon. My friends. Clark.
Clark Kent, her friend who might believe she hated him on the chance he had powers. No wonder he had pulled away throughout their relationship. The words she had said under the drug was what he must have always been afraid of. Clark Kent was the kindest, gentlest person Lana knew. And if he managed to be that way after being infected by meteor rocks, maybe others could too.
"Megan, I really am sorry. You don't deserve to die just because this happened to you. But you do understand why people are upset with you cheating, right?"
Megan sighed. "Would you toss a fish into a pool?"
"Huh?"
"Would you toss a fish into a pool? No. Because that would be inhumane. Chlorine is toxic to fish, Lana, which is used in all the pools the swim team uses. I haven't been able to use my ability, not once, for those meets. Every time I swim in a pool, I have to cover my gills with wax. Everything I won on the swim team was because I trained for it. Course, no one believes that now."
"I didn't think about it that way. I mean, you hear about someone having gills and you just assume…"
"All water's the same. I get it. There's a lot we don't know about all of this. And Lana," Megan sighed, "I do get why you're so upset. I mean, what happened with Seth…the guy was a creep."
"A big creep," Lana agreed.
"The biggest." Megan wrapped her arms around Lana in a hug. "But cut me some slack. I don't see how I could take over the world just by breathing underwater."
"Well, maybe if you could talk to fish."
The two girls managed to laugh like they had in years past.
"Ladies," the tutor said coming out into the hallway, "I'm about to begin."
"Megan, do you mind if I stay?"
"You feel safe being around a bunch of freaks?"
"Maybe it's time I stop being afraid."
At Smallville High…
How do Chloe and Clark do this? Pete thought as he looked down at the short list of names. School had ended two hours ago. He had spent hours going through police files and accident reports in search of his dream girl. His list had five names of car crashes that happened near water. Three happened on or near local bridges. One had occurred in winter when a car fell through the ice on Crater Lake and the last one had run into a fire hydrant. The problem was Pete still had no idea what to look for. His only other hunch was that the passenger was an athlete of some kind; information that was missing from the reports. Now that he had a list of names, Pete had to do more digging into the people on them.
In need of a snack break, Pete walked towards the vending machines. A whiff of smoke turned Pete's attention to the nearby chemistry lab. As he got closer, Pete could hear voices talking.
"Thanks for coming." Pete recognized one of the voices as Van.
"After all we've been through, I figured I at least owed you that. What do you want?"
Pete peeked inside the room and saw the other person was Jake.
"I need your help. They've got the roads blocked off; there's cops at my house and the hunting cabin. I need your help to get out of town. Not now. Got something big planned. But once it's set I'll need…"
"Van, you need to turn yourself in."
"To the police? The ones who're supposed to be protecting us from those freaks? They're useless!"
"You are killing people."
"Those freaks aren't people. No matter how much they seem like it. I know Megan tricked you…"
"And after watching what she's gone through, I'm having a hard time blaming her."
Van looked shocked by what he was hearing Jake say. He looked away from Jake and managed to lock eyes with Pete.
"Care to join us?" Van asked, gun raised. Pete lifted his arms and walked inside the room. "I take it you've been listening in. Well, you've got perfect timing because you're being fooled just like Jake was."
"What are talking about?"
"Clark Kent is one of them."
"What?" Pete glanced towards Jake. It was hard to tell if Jake believed Van or not. "Clark wasn't on your list."
"I just found out. But he's a freak, and possibly the biggest one of them all. And it's up to me to stop him. That freak is going to get exactly what he deserves."
"Clark's more human than you'll ever be!" Pete spat out. "He helps people."
"I'm helping people! I'm protecting them from those things."
"Like Cyrus? The guy was a vegetable. What harm could he have done?"
Van scoffed at the remark. "I didn't kill Cyrus."
Pete rolled his eyes at Van's attempt to avoid blame. His eyes settled on a bowl on one of the tables. Inside was a green, glowing liquid that reminded Pete of meteor rocks.
"What are you doing?"
"Making bullets."
Pete's stomach twisted as he realized what he was seeing. Van had somehow found out about Clark's weakness.
I got to warn Clark!
Pete tried to back out of the room.
"Not so fast." Van pointed a pistol at Jake. "Pete, slide your phone over."
Not seeing what else could be done at the moment, Pete did as instructed.
"Jake, you got your phone?"
"Yeah." Jake pulled it out of his pocket.
"Good. Call 911."
Van pulled the trigger and a pain like no other erupted in Pete's shoulder.
At the Wild Coyote…
Clark Kent had been zooming around Smallville all day in search of Van. He had missed school, but under the circumstances he knew he had to put a stop to the mayhem. His search brought him to the bar on the outskirts of town. A quick scan shown Perry White sitting alone at a table. Clark understood Alicia's role in Lionel's plot to uncover his powers. But why would this stranger go so far to endanger a teenager?
Wanting answers, Clark entered the bar and took the seat opposite of the older man. Perry raised his glassy eyes and lowered them once he recognized who was sitting across from him.
"Lionel wasn't quick about informing me of your safety," the man finally said. "His secretary on the other hand was very helpful. Lovely woman."
"Why'd you do it?"
The man laughed. He grabbed a full glass and drank it down in one gulp.
"Because I used to be Perry White. I brought the raw truth to the uninformed populace. I investigated Intergang. My name used to mean something, and I thought it could mean something again. I thought you were my ticket back into professional journalism. Not this tabloid garbage I do now."
"If you hate it so much, why don't you stop?"
"Because I'm a journalist," Perry said mournfully. "It's in my blood. And sometimes you have to push to get the truth, even if it hurts."
"What happened to you?" Clark found it hard to believe the man sitting across from him had been a respected journalist as Mr. White was making it sound. Not when the man wore wrinkled clothes, had yellowed teeth, and drank constantly.
"Life is a journey, grasshopper. All it takes is one deal gone wrong and you watch everything you've worked for come crumbling down. And now, the only thing to make the trip smoother is a little lubricant. One more," Perry called to the bartender.
"No, he's had enough." Clark dragged Mr. White out of the bar.
"What is with you, kid?" Perry broke away from Clark's grip.
"Mr. White, if there's one thing I know, it's that if you have a gift, you shouldn't turn your back on it."
"You're trying to help me? After I almost got you killed?" Perry looked confused.
"I'll call you a cab."
"Won't come. Something about unpaid fares. But I got a ride coming. Don't worry about me."
Clark was going to ask more questions, but he became distracted by his phone ringing. The caller ID showed it was Pete.
"Pete?" Clark answered his phone.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Kent," Van's voice said on the other line.
"What'd you do with Pete?"
"He's in good hands. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like a word."
Clark glanced over at Perry White, who was distracted by reading the newspaper. Feeling the need to get to Van as quickly as possible, Clark ran away in supersped.